Students honored as Concerto Competition winners

School of Music Concerto Competition winners (left to right) Taishi Nonaka, Lydia Herren, Danae Caradonna and Douglas Feig.

Four students from the School of Music were declared the “best of the best” as winners of the annual Concerto Competition, a tradition at Fredonia for decades. After several hours of back-to-back performances on Sunday, ensemble directors and studio faculty deliberated and Assistant Director Barry Kilpatrick announced this year’s winners.

Tapped as winners were clarinetist Danae Caradonna from North Tonawanda, a student of Professor James East; percussionist Douglas Feig from West Nyack, who performed on marimba and is a student of Dr. Kay Stonefelt; soprano Lydia Herren from Springville, a student of Angela Haas and Assistant Professor Gwen Detwiler; and cellist Taishi Nonaka from Funabashi-Shi, Japan, who is a student of Dr. Natasha Farny. Fourteen students participated in the competition, held for the first time in the Juliet J. Rosch Recital Hall. The four Concerto Competition winners will perform during the 2007-2008 academic year with the College Symphony, Chamber Orchestra or Wind Ensemble.

Other student competitors included violinist Andrew Dunn from Wellsburg, mezzo-soprano Victoria Vargas from Jersey City, N.J.; trumpeter Nicholas DelBello from Sloan, soprano Christina Dudek from Churchville, tubist Andrew Ehnes from Cheektowaga, soprano Aurora DePaul from Rochester, flutist Caryn Freitag from Malta, N.Y.; trumpeter Chieko Matsuyama from Toride, Japan; pianist Kyoko Yamasaki from Nagasaki, Japan; and saxophonist Joel Hunt from Rochester.
   
All participants in Sunday’s event passed screenings during the spring and earlier this semester by the School of Music faculty.